Floating structures such as docks, decks, wharfs, breakwaters, walkways, boat slips and other structures are known in the art. These floating structures are typically interconnected using tie rods and side wales extending along the sides of the floating structures and fastened together. Other structures use hinges to connect the ends of adjacent floating structures. Still other structures use cables and rods which pass through the floating structures lengthwise and use rubber pads or resilient members between the structures for a cushion.
Some of these floating structures, while acceptable for relatively small interconnected structures, are not suitable for applications encountering rougher waters. Many of these systems do not allow sufficient pivoting motion between interconnected floats when fairly large waves are encountered. As a result, the interconnection system often fails. Other of these systems are not sufficiently strong to endure the pivotal motion over an extended period, or when encountering large storms. The resilient members of some of these structures are exposed to high shear forces. Additionally, the resilient members degrade over time due to exposure to sunlight.